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SO important for new PG Kidd to get to know teammates,
for Feltip to get back in the swing with Amare and old buddy Melo,
and for The Prigger to get his feet wet with NBA quality players
and new teammates. SMART MOVE! - props to Wood Son!

maybe Knicks F.O. will get that final player to round out
the team (JoshHo?), and get him into pre-training camp too.

Good that it's happening. Hopefully they don't talk to the media much during and just get on with it. 7 weeks or so till game 1. Some chemistry will only be achieved against NBA level opponents but practicing each other will ensure we hit the ground running and everyone is in shape.

Can't wait to see our PG's work with our front court and shooters. Also hope Stat is guarded & given guidance by Chandler,Camby & Thomas so he is ready offensively and gets some pointers and motivation defensively.

Knicks sharpshooter Steve Novak told ESPNNewYork.com on Wednesday that he and most of the team have organized a "pre-training camp" starting Monday.

The camp will take place at the Knicks' training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., and will continue all the way through Oct. 1, when the Knicks must report for media day.

Novak said the activities will include alternating days of basketball and conditioning skills work.

"We just want to make sure we hit the ground running," Novak said.

Travis King, the longtime training adviser for Amare Stoudemire, said it's unique for players to join as a unit this early in the offseason. But he added that coach Mike Woodson, who had the idea for the "pre-training camp," and the key veterans (Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler) who picked the date, wanted to do it at this time because they've never been together from the beginning.

"Amare was there in 2010, then Melo came around (in 2011) and then last year with the lockout, they didn't really get to have a training camp," King told ESPNNewYork.com. "I think coach Woodson knows that it's important getting those guys to jell together and knows that they can have a championship-caliber team. Coach knows he's going to have to jell the team earlier, so a lot of the guys agreed to come out earlier in the year."

King said the "pre-training camp" is especially important because the Knicks need to establish a connection between their veterans and new point guards -- a key relationship that will impact the team's chemistry-building. Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Pablo Prigioni and Chris Smith didn't suit up for the Knicks last season.

"I think that they've got one of the deepest teams in the NBA, one of the most veteran teams, and they definitely got some guys who are winners. But I think the key with them is going to be getting them to jell," King said. "They've got three point guards who didn't play on the team last year, and that's going to be crucial for them to help the guys who have been there, like Amare, Tyson and Melo, and get everybody on the same page. I think you don't want to try to wait all the way to training camp to do that if possible."

Novak, who's spent most of his offseason training at his alma mater, Marquette, said Woodson wanting to organize the "pre-training camp" speaks volumes about his dedication to the team.

"The way he's gone out of his way this summer to make sure he stays in touch with everybody and visits guys, that goes a long way," he said. "I think to build a winning culture, you have to do a little bit more, and that makes you a better team in the NBA. And I feel like knowing that your coach cares about you and he's thinking about you during the summer, and he has plans for you, that goes a long way."

Jared Zwerling is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com

Wow .... this pre-training-camp will determine the outcome of Chris Smith, James White, and Copeland, before training-camp open.
Our Summer league team were the pits .. so im sure we will invite 2 or 3 more players to the opening of training-camp n preseason games (hopefully Sean Williams) .. we been receiving negative comments by a lot of sports writers on our "offseason analysis" for giving away RFA "Lin-Sanity & Landry Fields" for nothing in return .. while we sign n trade for dinosaur UFA, by paying the salary of the players we traded.

We are looking foward to getting through pre-training-camp, training-camp, and the preseason games without any injuries to any of our main 12-man roster ....Kidd - Felton - PabloBrewer - JR.Smith - Copeland Melo - Novak Amare - K.Thomas Tyson - Camby

I think the guys have a sense of urgency. With the age of the team, lack of draft picks and the salary cap the Knicks have a window of a couple of years to make some noise in the EC.

Can't afford a start like last year where the team got into a hole and struggled to make the playoffs at the end of the season. We need to start strong, clinch a playoff spot early get that lower seed matchup like the top 4 teams get and get home court advantage in the playoffs.

Agreed, when I first saw this, I was thinking that the league or players association have something in the CBA restricting extra practice or using the team facilities in "organized" workouts. Hoepfully the NBA is not as ridiculous as the NFL. No more double days, no more than 5 consecutive days in pads, I guess the players association got those put into the last CBA, but they still wanted 90 man preseason rosters....go figure, make the coach's job harder.

The Start of a GREAT Knicks season

Originally Posted by p0nder

How many years did Kiyaman scream for this **** to go down???

great job on this tam to get it started early. Early Bird Gets the Worm!

Coach Woody with a crazy-Jason Kidd got 110% support from Kiyaman this season.
Having the players get familiar with each other 8 or 7 weeks before the start of the season is a great sign of the early-bird getting the worm .. Atlantic Division Title.